


When the Dust Settles

by muse_in_absentia



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Community: rs_games, M/M, Propaganda, R/S Games 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-12
Updated: 2016-10-12
Packaged: 2018-08-20 04:39:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8236388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muse_in_absentia/pseuds/muse_in_absentia
Summary: R/S Games 2016 - Day 8 - Team PlaceIn a world where Muggle and Magical live together, the Riddle Corporation offers magic to anyone who wants it. For a price.





	

**Author's Note:**

> **Team:** Place  
>  **Title:** When the Dust Settles  
>  **Rating:** NC-17  
>  **Warnings:** Explicit sex, descriptions of violence consistent with dystopian fic, excessive use of Propaganda Posters, dystopian levels of disregard for children and poor people.  
>  **Genres:** Dystopian AU  
>  **Word Count:** 21,000  
>  **Summary:** In a world where Muggle and Magical live together, the Riddle Corporation offers magic to anyone who wants it. For a price.  
>  **Notes:** First, I want to thank my incredible beta MiS for the speedy, and _incredibly_ helpful work. You made this story better. I'd also like to thank LG, LW and M for all the hand holding and listening to me whine about this fic when it wasn't behaving. I probably wouldn't have finished it without you.  
>  **Prompt:** #53 - "A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest, remembers it most obsessively, wrenches it from itself, shapes it, renders it, loves it so radically that he remakes it in his own image." - Joan Didion

_In the year 2971 the Muggles embarked on their first manned space trip beyond the Milky Way. A crew of three travelled in a small craft they called Pegasus, much to the amusement of the witches and wizards of the time. No pegasus would willingly carry a human; unlike unicorns, they cannot be tamed or approached by humans, no matter the circumstances._

_The round trip journey took nearly two decades and when the crew returned they had their memories recorded then blanked by a top team of Obliviators working closely with the government at the time and then were returned to a happy daily civilian life after a brief quarantine._

_It took three years for the first signs of the virus which was quickly named the Crichton Virus after an author from the Age of Technology who quite possibly had a bit of seer in him. No muggle medicine or magic potion had any appreciable effect on the Crichton Virus. By the year 2997 the world population had gone from nine billion people to just under seven million. Towards the end of the pandemic The Riddle Corporation developed a preventative potion against the virus, thus saving what was left of the world._

_It was then that the Statute of Secrecy had to be lifted once and for all, under the careful watch of the Riddle Corporation and their Viper Guards. There were simply not enough magical families left to maintain the purity of blood that had been so highly prized up until then. Now the muggle and magical worlds live in complete harmony._

_~Excerpt From:_

_The Complete History of the World_

_Dolores Umbridge_

_The Riddle Corporation_

A row of sharp faced blond little boys stared down from where they lined the cracked cement wall of a deserted warehouse. Rather, a row of the same sharp faced, blond little boy. Sparks were shooting from his fingertips while his pale eyes widened in a farcical display of excitement over his first magic. The words _A Healthy Child is a Magical Thing_ shimmered over his head.

Whoever had cast the Longevity Lamination had done a remarkable job. The row of posters was the only thing still holding off the creep of decay that was settling into the bones of the neighborhood, leaving a crumbling skeleton in its wake. As pristine as they had been when they were new, the posters seemed almost garishly out of place, abandoned among the crumbling walls and hollowed buildings, which were more a home to colonies of stray post owls and pixies than serving any real purpose. A layer of invasive Creeping Pixie Ivy followed the pixies from the surrounding forest into the streets, crowding walls, climbing through broken windows in thick tangled ropes dotted with pale blue flowers that managed to bloom even during the dry season.

Orange light hit one of the posters in a sharp blast, startling a couple of small owls where they had been roosting in a crevice in the wall.

"You know that doesn't work," Lily chided from the crumbling doorway she was leaning against, her voice muffled from behind a faded gold scarf she had wrapped around her face to ward off the dust. "You could probably get up and tear them up, but they're magic resistant."

"It makes me feel better," Sirius groused, curled up on the ground, his black jeans and leather jacket having taken on an almost sepia tone from the latest dust storm that had blown through only an hour earlier. His long hair had escaped its ties and was tumbling about his shoulders, tangling in the blue handkerchief he had tied over his face.

James, who was sitting at Lily's feet, was ignoring them both. Taking advantage of the calm between storms he was currently busy repairing the Filter Charm on his own scarlet handkerchief. The Filter Charm that would allow them all to breathe without choking down lung destroying quantities of dust. He had already fixed Lily's for her, trying to get them all done before the wind picked back up again.

Sirius had never gotten the hang of a good Filter Charm, and even after nearly fifteen years of marriage James insisted on doing as much for Lily as she would let him get away with. That meant that James had designated himself in charge of making sure none of them suffocated every year when the dusty months came around.

"I can't wait for the rainy season so we can just breathe again," James muttered, wiping grime and sweat from his face before covering it again with his newly charmed handkerchief.

"Should be soon," Lily replied, not looking down at her husband, but rather focused on the dust cloud in the distance. "Looks like another storm coming."

"Nine months of rain and gloom. How is it the other three months are so dry that everything withers and dies within a matter of days, turning the entire city into some crumbling mummy, choking on its own ashes?" Sirius grumbled, still twirling his wand and frowning.

"Been pawing through the poetry section of the abandoned library again?" James snorted, raising an eyebrow.

"It gets me out of the heat and dust," Sirius replied flatly, twisting his sweat soaked shirt between his fingers, eyes still distant.

"And out of sight of the Vipers," James finished for him.

Sirius nodded absently, but didn't reply, and the silence stretched between them, taught and brittle, waiting for the right moment to shatter, crumbling with the mood of the moment.

"Bloody fuck!" A jet of cold water hit Sirius in the face, making him splutter and drop his wand with a shout.

James was chuckling, but it was Lily tucking her wand back into her heavy leather belt, the silence cracking on the side of levity this time.

Flipping two fingers at Lily, Sirius cast a quick drying charm before he slouched down further, back scraping against the crumbling cement wall as he dropped his elbows to his knees, boots tucked under him, making him look like a sulky teenager and not a man in his mid thirties.

"You're in a mood today," James said softly, leaning his head against Lily's thigh while she absently played with his disheveled hair.

"Isn't he always?" Lily asked, laughing, but she stilled quickly when James nudged her with his shoulder.

Sirius shrugged, letting his shoulder drop with the weight of the air, oppressive, thick, heavy with the resignation of a city curling in on itself.

"You want to talk about it?" James asked, and Sirius almost smiled at the pained look on his face as the words escaped, the result of much conditioning from Lily, or the result of growing up, Sirius wasn't sure which.

He shook his head, unwilling to try and explain that it wasn't the dust in the air that made him choke at night; that it wasn't the abandoned buildings that left him feeling hollow; that it wasn't the sleepless nights that left him exhausted. "That's all right, mate, wouldn't want you going all sentimental on me now. You do enough of that around your wife."

Lily smacked him in the back of the shoulder, but sank down into the dust beside him, wrapping an arm around his waist and tucking herself in, pulling James with her until they were all piled together.

"Why Lily, I didn't know you felt that way. Don't worry, I won't tell your husband."

"Oi!"

Tugging the ends of his hair where it had escaped its ties, Lily snorted. "Hush up, pillock, we're trying to cuddle the grumpy out of you. Let us do it."

"I didn't volunteer for this cuddle therapy," James grumbled, but he tucked himself in closer so that his arm reached around Lily to rest on Sirius' shoulders as well, tumbling Lily almost across their laps in the process.

She giggled and let herself fall, curling so she landed sprawled across them both. Sirius slid closer so she wasn't stretched so awkwardly, leaning his head onto James' shoulder, petting Lily's hair absently.

"Well, if this isn't disturbingly domestic," a snide voice drifted from their left, infiltrating their space with hissing sibilants and bitten off percussives, sharp and smooth at once.

Sirius groaned softly and tried to disentangle himself from the pile, but both James and Lily tightened their grip almost simultaneously, as if telepathically, preventing him from moving without dragging them with him. He sighed and let himself be restrained.

"Severus." Lily's resigned tone made Sirius rethink the idea that they were keeping him there for his benefit, even as she sat up, now mostly on James' lap.

For the briefest of moments Sirius saw the spike of wistful longing that flashed across Snape's face, the lost years and what ifs that chased each other through his eyes before he blinked them away, replaced with what was abruptly obvious as a façade; cold stone replacing burning regret. Sirius knew what it was like to lose his best friend to coupledom, and eventually marriage. He may have never been in love with James, but suddenly the similarities were strikingly apparent. Wearing the same loss as Snape stretched across his heart made him feel slightly ill, but he bit off his sharp retort for the first time, because as uncomfortable as the idea made him, he suddenly understood it.

"That son of yours tried to break into Riddle Labs again last night," Snape hissed, addressing only Lily, biting off his words.

"Good for him," James muttered, but he was frowning.

"That's the third time this week," Snape continued, ignoring James completely. "He's lucky I was the only one still there. I modified the monitoring charms to erase any signs of him, but you need to tell him to back off. The wards are too strong, and I cannot be there to clean up after him every time he gets himself into trouble."

Sirius felt James tense against his side, and he tucked an arm unobtrusively around his waist, hiding the move behind where Lily was still sprawled across them, rigid. James leaned very slightly into the touch, but otherwise gave no indication that Sirius had moved at all. He did at least refrain from saying anything that might discourage Snape from continuing to be helpful at all.

"We haven't spoken to Harry in over a month," Lily said, resigned, emphasizing the we very slightly.

"That's right," Snape drawled, the widening of his eyes nearly imperceptible, covered by the disdain in his voice. "He runs with that gang of hoodlums now. What do they get up to, these days? Defacing Riddle property? Breaking and entering? Theft most certainly. I suppose you can't do anything to deny blood." He sneered down his nose at James as he spoke, and Sirius tightened his arm quickly, fairly sure that the

only reason James wasn't on his feet hexing Snape was because Lily was still sitting on him, quite effectively pinning him in place.

"You really ought to reign him in, Lily," Snape continued, studiously ignoring the way James' face was turning bright red. "Fourteen is too young to be on his own, drawing this much attention from the Vipers. They won't ask questions, they'll just haul him in and you know it, and when that happens I won't be able to get him out for you. Do something about it." The I'm not his father went unsaid, but not unheard. James was nearly purple, but Lily carded her fingers through his hair to soothe him, and Sirius was fairly sure that somehow Snape ended up on the losing end of that battle without a word said from the opposite side.

"Thank you, Severus," Lily answered quietly, not letting any of them rise to his baiting; James grumbling into her neck, but restraining himself; Sirius paying more attention to the tension thrumming between Lily and James, Snape only barely registering on the edges of his awareness beyond a general feeling of sympathetic pity that felt entirely foreign and unwelcome.

"I won't keep doing it," was the only reply as Snape whirled around and stalked back the way that he came.

As soon as he was out of sight Lily sagged, and Sirius disentangled himself from his friends, knowing that he wasn't fully privy to the moment they were having.

"What could he be up to?"

"Is he still in that warehouse by the river?"

"Think it burned down last month."

"Maybe the old school house?"

Planting his hands in the dirt, letting it abrade his fingertips for a moment, Sirius heaved himself up, cement at his back, knees popping as he stood.

"We could always head over to The RaT," Sirius interrupted their furious whispering. "See if Pete knows anything. They have to be getting their supplies from somewhere, and you know he never charges them full price, if at all."

The silent debate James and Lily had been having cut off abruptly, and James glanced over at Sirius. "That's not a bad idea, mate."

Lily nodded, but snorted. "You just want to see if he's gotten a new supply of Baffling Brandy in yet."

When they weren't much older than Harry is now Sirius had been completely enamored with the slogan _Baffling Brandy: So Strong You'll Forget Who You Are._ At fourteen there wasn't a much better way to choose your illicit substances. He, James and Peter had spent three days drinking their way through four bottles of the stuff and none of them remembered a thing about the incident. Sirius was the only one who had truly taken to the stuff, however, and his supply was running rather low lately.

"Certainly couldn't hurt to look," he replied with a shrug. "Doesn't negate the fact that Pete might know where Harry is, or at least how to find him."

"Walk or-"

"Apparate," both Sirius and James cut in in perfect unison, sparing each other matching grins.

"Lazy sods," Lily muttered. Sirius didn't contradict her. If she wanted to think he was lazy then let her. It was certainly better than explaining that he knew that Regulus' shift ended soon and that he didn't want to have to walk past the Pit, the Viper Guards barracks, and risk seeing his little brother. He didn't think he could handle to soft look of concern she got on her face any time his family came up, or the wistful gaze she got any time estranged siblings were mentioned.

Squeezing his eyes shut Sirius felt himself compress inward until all his mass coalesced into one single point, a black hole of a person, and then exploded out again reforming on the other side as he popped up in front of Petegrew's Rations and Tradables, commonly referred to as The RaT. Two more pops and Lily and James appeared, James stumbling as he Apparated too close to the wall of the apothecary next door and had to lean quickly or risk smashing his glasses. Again.

"Every time," Sirius chuckled, mussing James' hair on his way past, sliding into the dimly lit shop and breathing a sigh of relief at the far more comfortable temperatures inside. He wiped sweat from his forehead and wandered into the mess of precariously balanced goods.

The rough hewn shelves were packed too closely together with barely enough room to squeeze between them without knocking items over, a jumbled mess of whatever happened across Peter's path that could be sold. There were bottles of Hethelby's Heat Help stacked haphazardly next to tiny jars of Sommorton's Singing Shoeshine and packages of anise flavored biscuits. An entire shelf was dedicated to dusty copies of _My Battle With Myself – How to Become a Better You (By Being More Like Me)_ by Gilderoy Lockheart that continued to pile up as the publisher tried to get them off their hands, sending them out unsolicited.

Far in the back corner, wedged between a piece of a rusty fence and a rather expensive looking wizarding radio, was where Peter usually kept his small stash of Baffling Brandy. He was kind enough to always store it back where the lighting was so dim that customers couldn't read the labels without the help of a _lumos_ , ensuring that Sirius always got first shot at it.

The cooling charms were less effective in the back of the store, but it was still significantly better than outside. Sometimes, on quiet days, he, James and Lily would spend the majority of the day hiding out in Peter's shop, under the guise of getting to spend more time with their overly busy friend, and meaning it, but also enjoying the cooling charms which were refreshed hourly, and pilfering snacks.

Today all Sirius really wanted was a quiet place to escape the oppressive heat that was seeping into his bones, weighing him down and squeezing him in until he felt like he was stuck mid-Apparation, fighting to breathe around it.

He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall beside the shelf for a moment, feeling sticky as sweat dried on his face and back, his shirt clinging to his skin every time he moved.

"Pete, mate!" James called from the other end of the store. Sirius ignored him, as well as Peter's reply, which he couldn't hear because Peter didn't feel the need to shout as if he were permanently surrounded by a herd of stampeding hippogriffs. They would find him if they needed him. Or wanted to hex him, which was more likely to be the reason.

A quick flash of dim light from his wand and Sirius reached almost by feel to the familiar corner of the shelf, only to find it empty. Disappointment was quickly replaced with resignation. There hadn't been a fresh supply of brandy in months.

He grabbed a crumbling pile of silk flowers that had been stuffed behind a mildewed tapestry that was supposedly of Merlin, but looked to Sirius quite a bit more like Gandolf from those ancient muggle books. There was no price affixed to the flowers, which Sirius hoped meant that Peter hadn't been intending on trying to sell them, seeing as he had hastily transfigured them into a gaudy metal cup, some of the colors still leaching through. Using an _aguamenti_ he filled it before draining it quickly. The spelled water was lukewarm and tasted stale with a faint hint of dogwood from his wand, but he refilled the cup two more times before he felt less like he was going to crumble to dust in a stiff wind.

Leveraging himself off the wall Sirius dragged himself back to the front of the store.

"I think I'm going to wander for a while, James. Pete, good to see you."

"If you want to call it that," Peter grumbled good naturedly. He was used to Sirius' moods, and Sirius was fairly sure that he wasn't offended.

Sirius shrugged, swatting his hair out of his face and smiling apologetically. It felt more like a grimace, his face stretched taut between two thin slices of dimple etched down his cheeks, as sharp and tremulous as fault lines. "If you find Harry, or you need me for any other reason, you know how to get ahold of me."

James clapped him on the shoulder and nodded, little lines between his eyes that Sirius decided to interpret as concern over Harry rather than himself, if only for the sake of his own sanity. If James were actually worried over him he would stay, and right now he might crawl right out of his skin if he stayed immobile for much longer.

Before he could make it out of the door, though, Peter held up a hand. When Sirius paused Peter turned to rummage under the counter for a minute, disappearing entirely from view only to pop back up like a Springing Starling. When he reappeared he was holding out a familiar shaped bottle.

"Just came in," Peter grinned, sounding slightly smug. Sirius let him, was privately grateful for Peter's inclination towards small theatrics. It meant that he was being handed a bottle of relief, from his morose mood if not from the heat. He reached for his pouch of galleons that he always kept tied underneath his shirt, out of sight, but Peter waved him off with a flip of his hand. "Just think of me next time you feel like brewing some Energizing Elixir, I haven't had the time to do it myself."

"Take mine, it's too bloody hot for potion making. I'll survive without it until the rains start again," Sirius replied, tossing a small vial at Peter, who caught it gratefully. Tipping the precious bottle in salute before tucking it away inside his ever present rucksack, Sirius trudged out the door and back into the devastating heat.

His boots kicked up dust as he picked one empty street after another, avoiding the housing quadrant of the city, where the high positioned magic users currently useful to Riddle lived, in favor of the quiet of the abandoned warehouse district; the gangs of small children playing in the street kicking rocks around paying him no mind as he passed by. He took turn after rambling turn, no destination in mind, simply curling himself through the desolation, finding himself in ever increasing levels of dilapidation and

outright decay, tracing his way through city streets so like a fingerprint. No two cities had the same streets, particularly these days when streets were designed as much by debris as by people.

There were days that Sirius wanted to run, to escape the omnipresent influence of The Riddle Corporation, to find someplace thriving, and lush and independent. Someplace that wasn't under military rule from the Vipers, who had complete authority to do as they pleased, with no consequences. There were rumors of places that Riddle didn't touch; that didn't have the supplies, but had the freedom to live as they wished without fear. He dreamed of days without fear.

Other days, though, he dreamed of flashes of light, brilliant and cold, clearing the way before him to take back the city that he loved. Of days without fear, without having to leave to find them, of reshaping history into a place that everyone had an equal chance of surviving.

Most days fell in between. Where leaving was too distant a dream, but staying held no pull. Where no matter which way he looked everything was overwhelming. Days like that he walked, sweltering in the warm months, drenched when it wasn't the dusty season; grounding himself in the thud of his feet on the broken pavement, the brush of his hand on crumbling walls, the pulse of life still managing to cling on thrumming in the back of his throat. He walked until his feet hurt and his brain was numb and he no longer felt like he was a ghost inside his own head.

"Bloody buggering fuck!" A low voice hissed, punctuated by a loud bang and a cloud of debris bursting up just a couple of meters from Sirius, snapping him abruptly out of his haze.

His wand was in his hand so fast he didn't remember pulling it out, but he didn't see anyone at first. Rather, there was a pile of rubble and a half collapsed roof obscuring the source of the voice. A pair of battered, heavy brown boots poked out from behind the slate that was in the process of sliding off the crumbling cement wall.

Sighing, Sirius flicked his wand and banished the chunk of roof across the street where it couldn't hurt anyone as it crumbled apart. Sirius' ability to think crumbled right along with it.

The man who stumbled out from beneath the newly missing roof was lanky, standing a few inches taller than Sirius, with sandy colored hair flopping in front of his face and the biggest brown eyes Sirius had ever seen peeking through his damp bangs. A trickle of sweat was dripping down his temple and Sirius was struck with a very sudden urge to lick it off.

He was aware that he was staring, and was probably coming across as more than a little creepy, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the shadow of stubble dusting across the other man's jaw.

"I would feel more inclined to say thank you if I didn't feel a bit like you were planning on-"

"Remus?" A quiet, female voice interrupted before Sirius could find out exactly what this lovely man, _Remus_ , thought about him.

For a very brief moment Sirius wanted to hex the tiny dark skinned woman who appeared from within the derelict building, but he quickly squashed the urge when a second woman joined her, wrapping an arm around her waist and propping her chin on the first woman's head. Two small children who couldn't have been any older than seven or eight cowered behind them.

"I heard the roof go," the smaller woman continued, frowning at Sirius, eyes narrowed in a way that made him want to take a step back, or possibly flee entirely.

"It's all right, Dorcas. I didn't get to the repairs in time is all," Remus muttered, looking embarrassed in a way that made Sirius reluctant to leave, despite the fact that even he could tell he was intruding. "I was spared having to explain away being crushed by..." He trailed off, looking at Sirius expectantly.

"Sirius," he offered, holding out a hand. No one shook it and after a moment he dropped it awkwardly back to his side.

"Will you still be able to fix it?" Dorcas asked Remus, ignoring Sirius completely.

"It might take a little more work, but magic can do amazing things."

"I didn't ask if magic could fix it, I asked if _you_ could fix it. I know the limits of magic depending on the user, thank you very much." Her eyes crinkled and she looked a half breath away from sticking her tongue out at Remus.

Sirius snorted before he could help himself.

Five sets of eyes turned to glare at him and he held his hands up in supplication. "Sorry, it's just that, she's right. And you certainly looked to be having a problem when I got here."

"I wouldn't have been having a problem if the sodding roof hadn't tried to collapse on my head," Remus grumbled petulantly, sounding more like one of the children hiding behind the silent taller woman's skirts than a full grown man capable of repairing a roof.

One of the children sneezed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. Sirius frowned and cast his eyes around, looking for something the right mass, finally settling on another row of posters plastered to the barely standing wall across the street, this time showing the perfect, Riddle approved, romantic moment. A table, a powerful looking man and a dainty woman, food floating to serve itself while they gaze at each other, all above the words _Put a Little Magic Back into Your Love Life._

"Do you mind?" He asked the women, gesturing at the abandoned rubble.

They both shook their heads, still watching him warily. He ignored them as he peeled two posters off the wall. "Riddle, finally providing something useful," he muttered as he tore them into quarters. "It's a good thing no one protects against non-magical means of destruction," he added to himself, privately wondering why he was so astounded by the fact that Riddle didn't think anything that wasn't magical was worth worrying about.

The hiss of ripping paper was intensely satisfying, and Sirius was trying not to grin like a lunatic at how cathartic it was. Slowly, one by one he transfigured the bits of paper into brightly colored scraps of cloth. One last pass of his wand over each of them and he turned around, holding out a fist full of colors like a bouquet.

"My mate James does a better Filter Charm than I do, but these should be better than nothing." Crouching down so he was at the same level as the two small children he smiled his brightest smile. "If you promise your," he paused and glanced up, "mothers?" The taller woman nodded, eyes wide. Winking at her, Sirius turned back to the kids. "Your mothers that you will wear these over your face, like I have mine, I'll let you pick your own colors. What do you say?"

After a reassuring glance up at their mothers both kids nodded. The smaller one stepped forward first, tugging the older one behind. She smiled, a small flash of white across a sun baked face surrounded by wild dark curls, and held out a tiny hand. "Can mine be green? I want to think of the trees when it's all hot out."

"Smart kid," Sirius mumbled under his breath before quickly changing one of the scraps to a deep forest green and handing it over. "Let your mommy tie that on for you, okay?" She nodded and pushed her brother forward. He just stood there scuffing his feet, eyes downcast.

"Ethan's shy," the little girl said, high pitched voice muffled behind her new face covering. "But he wants purple, don't you Ethan?"

The little boy nodded, dark blond hair flopping in front of his face. Then he promptly scurried back to hide behind his mother again.

Not wanting to make the boy any more uncomfortable Sirius handed a newly purple fabric square to the woman currently being used as a human shield. She took it from him with shaking hands. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice tremulous, lilting.

Shrugging, Sirius bit off the "It was nothing," that was his first instinct. It was quite obviously something to this family and he didn't want to downplay their gratitude, make less of it than it was. It was only a bit of magic to him, but to these people it was less dust in their lungs, longer lives for their children, more comfort. Things that weren't easy to come by if you couldn't work magic, no matter what rubbish the Riddle Corporation would like everyone to believe about the state of harmony and equality.

"You're welcome," he said gently, holding out the other three bits of fabric. "For the rest of you," he added, now feeling incredibly awkward with all of them watching him in awe as they all tied on their face coverings. "I should go. Leave you lot to-"

"What's going on here?" A sharp voice demanded, cutting him off.

Sirius was suddenly very glad he was still holding his wand. He knew that voice without having to turn.

"None of your bloody business, Lestrange," he hissed, shoulders tense, knuckles white where they were curled around his wand.

"Oh, but I think it is, don't you, Rabastian?" Came a second, nasal voice.

"Rosier's right, Sirius. We're the law around here, and I do believe that if I say it's our business, it's our business. Especially when you're consorting with a known trouble maker. What do you say, Lupin, want to come play with us again?" Sirius turned around slowly and his stomach sank when he saw that they were both in uniform. Their Viper Fangs, the emblem made from actual snake fangs clasped around the Riddle insignia of an R formed from a wand and a question mark, were pinned neatly on their chests.

When Lestrange reached out and tugged Remus' new face covering off, running a finger down a long, faint scar on his cheek that Sirius hadn't noticed before he snapped. Before he could think about what he was doing his wand was shoved under Lestrange's jaw, denting the skin. Rosier stepped forward, but he wasn't fast enough and Lestrange held up a hand giving him pause, as Sirius slowly pushed his wand in further.

"Touch him again and we'll see if you can survive without lungs," he threatened, not entirely sure he could back it up. Fortunately, Rabastian wasn't nearly as foolhardy as his brother, who had to be crazy to marry Bellatrix, and he paled, trying desperately to back up, away from Sirius.

A sharp pain sliced across his ribs and he nearly dropped his wand, his free hand reaching back and finding blood.

"Let him go, or the next hex hits someone much smaller," Rosier snarled.

Sirius reluctantly did as he was told, stepping away from Lestrange, and in front of the children as best as he could in the process. Remus stepped forward, knocking their shoulders together, his own wand out.

"Two against two," Remus said lowly, eyes narrowed. "Do you really want to risk being faster than us just to prove a point. Because I've got a score to settle and I'll take my chances when I can claim self defense?"

They didn't look completely convinced, so Sirius tossed out a seemingly innocent comment to tip the scales. "I've gotten faster in the last twenty years, Rabastian. My cousin could tell you the damage I can do in a duel, if you need help deciding. Go ask her, if she isn't too crazy to remember anything beyond her name these days." He sincerely hoped that Lestrange and Rosier would just leave. The children didn't need to see this sort of thing. And he could feel the blood running down his side from his ribs. If he had to stand there bleeding in the heat for much longer there was a distinct possibility of passing out and he knew Rosier at the very least, and probably Lestrange as well, would have no qualms about cursing him while he was unconscious.

Rosier looked like he was about to start throwing curses around just to see what would happen, but Lestrange held him back, eyeing Sirius warily. "You should come back to your family, Sirius, you could do so much good."

"That's not the kind of good I want to be doing," Sirius replied calmly, still brandishing his wand.

"Oh, and stop hanging out with werewolves. They're bad for your health." Lestrange spat, dragging Rosier away by the wrist.

Remus made a little noise like he'd been punched, each syllable a heavy blow. His deep, shuddering breath was loud in Sirius' ear, still pressed together at the shoulder until the two Vipers were out of sight.

As soon as they were gone Remus flung himself away from Sirius, nearly tripping over the remains of the fallen roof, eyes wide and darting. Sirius took a step towards him, slowly, trying not to spook him now that he looked like he was going to flee any second.

"Thanks for your help with that. I'm not sure they would have left for just me."

A terse nod was the only reply he got until tiny Dorcas stepped forward and tucked an arm around Remus' waist. "Remus, we've known for months that you're a werewolf, and we don't care in the slightest. And it doesn't seem that Sirius here does, either. Don't let the Vipers get to you. You're a good man, to help out my family like you do, coming by and doing all the necessary magic that we can't, and one night a month isn't going to change that. Come on, breathe for me."

Remus took a couple of slow breaths, and turned to look at Sirius who smiled at him.

"There are plenty more things to worry about than whether someone turns furry once a month," he said with a shrug. "Surviving the dusty season every year. Avoiding the Vipers at all costs." Suddenly his head was spinning, and he wasn't entirely sure that he wasn't listing to the side. "The fact that I may have lost more blood than I thought," he muttered, swaying slightly on his feet.

That got Remus moving, darting to Sirius, and crouching down to look at the gash on his ribs. "May I?" He asked softly, reaching out to prod at the wound, but not actually touching.

Sirius snorted. "I've only been thinking up ways to get your hands on me since I saw you," he answered, closing his eyes against the pain, quite sure that without it he would have had the nerve to actually say that out loud.

"Let's get this healed and you can have more than my hands on you."

Eyes snapping open so fast he couldn't see straight at first, Sirius looked down to see Remus, studiously ignoring him in favor of inspecting his injury, but the tips of his ears were bright red. "I'm holding you to that," Sirius said, reaching out to brush the hair off Remus' forehead while he worked.

"Do you have someplace we can go for me to heal you? You're probably going to want to be lying down for this. I'm all out of pain potion."

"Hold on and I'll Apparate us there."

"You aren't Apparating anywhere right now," Remus countered firmly, standing again, and tucking himself under Sirius' arm to give him something to lean on.

"Well, I'm certainly not walking there. I gave away the last of my Energizing Elixir this morning."

Remus sighed. "I can do Side-Along. Give me an Apparation point close by."

"Just get us to the North end of town. I've commandeered a small cottage just a couple of blocks inside the city limits."

"I'm sorry, Dorcas, Marlene, I'll come back tomorrow to fix your roof."

"Don't you worry about that, Remus," Dorcas waved a hand dismissively. "We've been meaning to clean out the back rooms anyway, move farther away from the street entrance. This is a good excuse to make us do it. We'll be fine."

"You know, if you ever-"

"We know," Marlene cut him off, gentle but firm. "But this is our home and we don't want to be run off. Living in an abandoned warehouse isn't much worse than a lot of people have it, truly. It's a roof and walls, and mattresses you transfigured for us. We're all making do these days, and probably will be for generations. We're fine. Now get your boy out of here before we have a body on our front porch."

"He's not my boy," Remus mumbled while Sirius preened internally at the comment.

"Not yet, but from the looks of things he could be. Don't blow it." Not giving Remus a chance to reply, she whirled around and ushered the kids back inside, head held high, back straight, looking regal as any

queen in her dusty skirts and cracked leather boots. Dorcas smiled and waved before following her, looking not insignificantly lovestruck.

"I think if I liked women I would be a little bit in love," Sirius slurred, leaning a little more heavily into Remus.

Remus snorted and tightened his grip. "Come on, let's get you home before you can't give me directions anymore." And they were suddenly compressing together.

Fortunately for Sirius it really was only a short walk after they Apparated to the North side. They walked mostly in silence, the only sound the crunch of their boots on the dusty street and Sirius' occasional instructions to "turn here".

When they stopped it was in front of a small, dingy blue cottage with a collapsed porch and cracked front windows. The steps were sagging, and the front door looked like it was barely hanging on to its hinges. There was a hole in the roof.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Sirius murmured, quickly undoing all the wards on the front door and letting them in, dropping his rucksack just inside the door.

From inside the house it became apparent what Sirius meant. The windows didn't appear cracked any more, and the door was securely latched behind them and quickly re-warded.

"Intruder Illusions," Sirius answered the puzzled look on Remus' face. "Make the place look worse than it is, and no one will try and claim it as their own while I'm not home."

"Clever," Remus replied, begrudgingly. "Now, to bed with you so I can heal this wound before you pass out."

The sight of the rickety stairs made Sirius groan out loud, but with a lot of help from Remus they managed to slowly make their way to the bedroom. Almost instantly Sirius dropped heavily onto the solid wooden bed, which he had transfigured out of the collapsed door of one of the nearby uninhabitable houses.

"I'm going to have to clean this before I close it," Remus said softly, trying to coax Sirius into a lying position.

Shaking his head and pulling off his face covering now that he was inside, Sirius resisted, leaning away from Remus' hands. At the quick flash of hurt that slid across Remus' face, Sirius pulled his wand out and with a quick flick slammed the bedroom door shut. "Cooling charms first, then you can do whatever you want with me," Sirius said by way of reply, trying to erase that look.

Some level of tension drained out of Remus, his shoulders no longer as stiff, and he muttered a dry, "Dangerous proposition," despite still looking a bit hesitant.

"It would only be dangerous if I weren't looking forward to it," Sirius grinned, running a thumb lightly over Remus' cheekbone before reaching for his wand, which he had dropped on the pillow when they first settled onto the bed.

Remus leaned into the touch, even after Sirius pulled his hand away, the worry in his eyes slowly being replaced with hope, pupils dilating, breathing speeding up.

Three cooling charms in quick succession and Sirius finally relented. "All right, have your way with me," he smirked.

Remus let out a low growl and muttered, "I intend to."

"Oh sod it," Sirius whispered, surging forward and kissing Remus, hard. Their noses clashed at first, but Remus grabbed a fistful of Sirius' hair and used it to fix the angle, tugging in a way that made Sirius groan, little sparks of pleasure-pain firing across his scalp. He bit at Remus' lower lip and Remus gasped for him.

Chasing the sound back into Remus' mouth with his tongue, Sirius let his hand discover a swath of skin between Remus' shirt and trousers. He used that to trail his fingers lower, resting just at the swell of Remus' arse before digging his fingernails in, just enough to make Remus whimper.

Between one breath and the next Remus wrenched himself away, squeezing his eyes shut, breathing heavily. "Healing first, then getting naked."

"If you insist," Sirius chuckled, running his fingers lightly up Remus' spine just to watch him shiver.

"Are you sure you're even up for-"

"I'm up for it," Sirius interrupted vehemently. He wasn't letting this chance slip away.

"Shirt off," Remus directed, pupils blown so wide Sirius could barely see the light brown surrounding them.

"Well, these aren't the circumstances I expected to hear those words in, but a bloke can't be picky when dealing with beautiful men. I'll take what I can get, even if I would have preferred to hear it with what we were just doing." He peeled his shirt off and cocked an eyebrow at the way Remus blinked, hard, and tried not to wince as he leaned back onto the bed, the adrenaline wearing thin and the pain spiking back through.

"Cheeky," Remus murmured, whacking Sirius gently on the shoulder, before sliding his wand out of his belt. "This will probably sting."

"Not my first healing charms," Sirius grit out, squeezing his eyes shut as Remus moved his wand slowly over the wound.

There was a sharp burn across his ribs, the kind that came from holding a chunk of ice too long, freezing charms rather than outright heat. It was over quickly, and Sirius flinched when it came a second time.

"Sorry," Remus gentled, a warm hand settling across Sirius' chest, soothing, even if he did want to suck on the long fingers. "It's purpling at the edges and I'm not sure if it's bruising or curse and I'd rather be safe."

"How did you learn healing?" Sirius asked, trying to distract himself from the effect that hand on his skin was having.

"Being a werewolf has its uses, I suppose," Remus answered ruefully. "No one else will help you when something goes wrong. You learn quick or you don't last too long."

The icy burn was very abruptly changed to a strangely uncomfortable tugging sensation, his skin stretched too tight across his ribs. "That should keep it from reopening. I don't generally carry Blood Brew on me, but if you're still talking you should be fine. You won't lose anymore."

"There's some in that crate in the corner. I like to keep wells stocked on healing potions since I don't have your skills," Sirius slurred, and then watched as Remus summoned the tiny glass bottle and handed it over.

Sirius drained the bottle, hoping fervently that he didn't need anymore before the heat broke and he could stand to brew potions again, never breaking away from Remus' heavy gaze as the potion took almost immediate effect and his head stopped spinning.

The hand on his chest, which hadn't left during the entire exchange, slid upward, a gentle pressure, the sticky drag making Sirius' breathing lose it's rhythm. When two fingers pressed against the hinge of his jaw he let his mouth fall open just slightly, watching Remus watch him. "Now, where-" Remus' voice choked off sharply as Sirius sucked two fingers into his mouth.

"Oh bloody – fucking – sweet Merlin – " Remus whimpered, pressing down on Sirius' tongue.

Sirius hummed around the fingers, reaching up and grabbing a fistfull of Remus' shirt and tugging, pulling the other man down beside him before releasing the fingers in favor of leaning in and catching his mouth again.

Their legs tangled easily, and when Remus drew Sirius' lower lip into his mouth, biting at it just on the sharper side of gentle, Sirius groaned and gave up trying to hold his hips still. Pressing forward he found Remus as hard as he was. It was strangely gratifying. A half relieved half embarrassed chuckle escaped Sirius before he could stop himself. "Merlin's pants, I've wanted to get you naked since I saw you. Why aren't you naked?"

"At least we agree about getting naked. You are unfairly attractive."

"If it helps me get you undressed faster, I'll use anything I've got."

"You've got a wand," Remus pointed out, laughing.

Sirius felt his face heat up but he grinned and reached for the wand he had set aside earlier after casting the cooling charms that were already fading a little. Allowing for the slight distraction he cast two more before banishing all their clothes into a heap in the corner. Setting his wand back down he was just about to reach for Remus again when he paused, catching the look on Remus' face. He made a questioning noise and Remus slowly dragged his eyes up so Sirius could look in them.

"I know you intended for this to be a bit of fun, nothing more," Remus started slowly, his voice more serious than when he was casting healing charms. "But I have the terrifying impression you're going to become quickly addictive. I just thought it fair to warn you."

With a sharp smile Sirius tugged Remus over him, skin sticking to skin, cocks brushing for the first time. Bracketing Remus between his knees he pressed up, watching the pulse of Remus' throat as he swallowed, hard, and then pressed back, the friction almost too much when sweat turned out to make a poor lubricant.

"I'd like to be able to say you're wrong," Sirius gasped, running a hand down Remus' back to grip his arse, pulling him in tighter but slowing down their movements. "That I wanted more than this, but I don't know you. Not really. I know you're beautiful. I know you're caring enough to help those without magic, despite the stigma. I know you're bloody brilliant at healing charms, I don't hurt at all anymore, by the way. Thank you for that. And I know I've never been this instantly attracted to another man. Let's enjoy this with the open option of doing it again and getting to know each other better, if that's what you'd like."

Remus reached down and wrapped a hand around both of them, but only stroking twice before realizing that without lube they weren't going to make it far. "Is that what you'd like?" He countered, rolling to the side and reaching for his wand.

"Right now, I'd like to suck you before you fuck me," Sirius replied, just to hear Remus groan. "But in the long term, yeah, I think it is."

The smile that graced Remus' face was more than enough for Sirius, who pressed him gently back and nipped at the hinge of his jaw. "But I'll-" He kissed down the column of his throat "-let you-" He bit hard at the juncture of neck and shoulder. Remus moaned low, his head thrown off to the side to allow Sirius better access, but Sirius had moved on. "-decide if-" He took a nipple into his mouth, sucking until Remus bowed his back completely off the mattress and he reached to tangle his fingers in Sirius' hair, not to control or guide, but to ground as Sirius lost himself in touch and taste. Although, who he was trying to ground Sirius wasn't sure. Relinquishing the nipple he let his teeth scrape gently, not sure where the lines were where pain and pleasure mixed and not wanting to risk tipping over them. "-that's something-" He licked a stripe down the inside edge of Remus' hipbone. "-you want-" He pressed his lips to the head of Remus' cock and let Remus have free rein to buck his hips as he licked pre-come off his lips. "-as well." He leaned forward and took as much of Remus into his mouth as he could.

Sirius had no illusions about his ability to deep throat. He had tried it a few times when he was younger and more determined to be as flashy as possible in bed and had learned that it was something he would probably never be able to do. He had also learned, however, that he was fairly good with his tongue, and he used that to his best advantage now, plying Remus with every trick he knew until Remus was writhing and panting beneath him.

The hand that had been in his hair since he started tightened sharply, and Sirius rolled his eyes up to look at Remus, one hand still wrapped around Remus' cock, his mouth still tight over the top, tongue flicking lightly back and forth over the slit.

"If you don't stop," Remus choked out, his voice raspy in a way that Sirius wanted to keep hearing for a long time. "I won't be able to fuck you."

Reluctantly, Sirius pulled away with one last lick up the underside. With an overly dramatic toss of his arms he flung himself down on his back and spread his legs, just enough to look both lewd and inviting, but mostly wanting to make sure Remus wouldn't ask him to turn over. He wanted to be able to see his face and was unsure how to ask for the intimacy of it.

Fucking was one thing. In a world where the only people who had enough were those willing to take it from others who didn't actually have it to give, people found their pleasure where they could. Sex was free and easily available. It didn't require magic beyond that of two bodies coming together. It was common. But in a world where every commodity was precious, even intimacy was hoarded. People fucked strangers, but they didn't let those strangers see them enjoy it.

Remus scrambled for his wand which he had dropped when Sirius had taken him into his mouth. A couple of charms later and they were both slick and Sirius was well stretched. "If we do this again," Remus gasped as he lined himself up, thankfully taking Sirius up on his silent offer of position. "I'd like to take the time to stretch you properly, but I'm embarrassed to say if I tried that right now we might never make it to fucking."

The first burn of Remus pushing in made Sirius lose his breath, but he refused to close his eyes, watching pleasure skitter across Remus' face and allowing him the same. "We're doing this again," he answered, angling his hips to take Remus deeper, clenching just enough to watch Remus' eyes flutter before he picked up a rhythm, steady and sharp but not brutal.

The stretch was bordering on perfect and Sirius felt a bit like he might cry from the luxury of being able to take their time, and having a bed.

For a while the only sound was the slap of sweaty skin combined with bursts of groaning, but when Remus reached between them to take Sirius in hand Sirius batted him away.

"Not yet. Want to feel you for as long as I can," he gasped out.

Ducking down and stealing a kiss, sloppy for the angle, but no less wonderful than the last one, Remus rested their foreheads together. "You're perfect, you know that? You're going to ruin me for doing this with anyone else."

It was a lie, something said in the heat of the moment and Sirius knew it, but he grinned, blade sharp. "Good. I don't like to share. If we decide to keep doing this I'll expect you will only do this with me. If you don't like that tell me now and this can be the one off we both expected at the start."

Remus lost his rhythm for a moment, hips stilling nearly completely, eyes wide. It only lasted a second before he started to move again, gasping into Sirius' mouth, "Fuck, you really _are_ perfect," and pulling back just enough that they could watch each other.

The change of angle did it, and Sirius' orgasm was startled out of him, unexpected, a lightning strike of pleasure. His back arched as he let out a shout then sank back into the bed completely drained.

There was a look of wonder on Remus' face, his hips motionless to let Sirius come back down. "I didn't even..." He whispered.

Sirius smiled lazily at him. "I know. That was." He paused, a hand sliding down Remus' back to his arse, and tightening, encouraging Remus to start moving again. "New."

"Are you sure?" Remus asked, as he hitched his hips tentatively, clearly not wanting to overstimulate.

"Please," Sirius replied, kissing at his shoulder. "I want to feel you finish. Please."

Groaning, Remus buried his face in Sirius' neck, pressing little fluttering kisses there as he started to move again in earnest. It didn't take much longer at all until he was spilling himself deep inside Sirius, who gasped at the sensation, spent cock twitching despite being well and truly replete.

Remus rolled off of him and they both lay there in silence for a few moments, remembering how to breathe before Sirius mustered up the energy to reach for his wand and cast a couple of cleaning charms, as well as some surreptitious protection charms. It had been a long time since he had been to see a medi-

witch or wizard and he didn't want to take that risk. It had been a long time since there was a medi-witch or wizard to see.

When Sirius rolled back over and reached for Remus he felt the tension in Remus' back, saw the quick dart of his eyes.

"If you feel like you should leave, go," he said, resigned. "But you're welcome to stay. The bed is plenty large enough and I'd enjoy the company."

There was no reply for a moment, but then Remus took a shuddering breath and leaned back into him, curling up against his chest. Sirius tightened an arm around him and kissed the top of his head.

"Might even be some food downstairs, if you're interested," Sirius added sleepily, almost as an afterthought. A quick glance toward the window showed that it was just starting to get dark out, but Sirius was sure he could sleep for days.

"You'd share with a man you brought home for a quick fuck?" Remus sounded startled and it made Sirius' heart clench.

"No, but I'd share with the man I brought home hoping to get to know as more than just a quick fuck."

That earned him a kiss, gentle and sweet, the complete antithesis of everything between them so far. Sirius made a wounded little noise and kissed back, languid, taking his time to map out every crevice of Remus' mouth. They only broke apart when they were interrupted by Remus letting out a large yawn.

"I think I'd rather just sleep," he mumbled sheepishly. "It's been a long day."

"I can get behind that. And maybe in the morning we can have another go, and then I'll see if I can scrounge enough together to make you breakfast."

"Keep talking like that and I may have to keep you."

"That's the plan," Sirius whispered, already dozing off, curled around Remus.

That night Sirius dreamed of the heart of the rainy season with Remus still beside him, the city cooled and green, food growing again, and no Vipers to threaten their survival. The city as it should be, shared with this new stranger that somehow made enough of an impact to even be by his side in dreams.

When he woke it was to the sound of the door slamming, crashing and swearing in the hallway. Rolling over Sirius saw Remus blinking owlishly, his hair sleep-mussed, looking bemusedly toward the door.

"Good morning," Sirius smiled, leaning in to steal a kiss, tangling his fingers in Remus' hair, letting soft strands sift through his fingers as he pulled away slowly.

"Good morning to you, too," Remus sounded amused. "A bloke with thick glasses and a mop of messy dark hair just burst in here, flung a hand over his eyes, started cursing and ran back out. Should I be concerned?"

"That's my best mate, James, and you should definitely be concerned. The pillock knows better than to barge in like that, so that probably means it's important and we aren't going to get our morning shag after all."

"Just promise me we'll get to it after you've seen to whatever his emergency is and I'll forgive you."

Sirius let out a bark of laughter, summoning their clothes from the night before and plying both sets with a quick freshening charm before they put them back on. "You're wonderful. And I promise. As soon as is humanly possible. I want to spend hours exploring every centimeter of your body with my mouth."

"Don't," Remus groaned, pressing his hands over his eyes, rubbing at them in a way that made Sirius want to bundle him back to bed and let him sleep for a few more hours. And maybe make him some tea, if he could find any of the good stuff. Remus deserved the good stuff.

"Don't?" He hedged, afraid he'd pushed too far too fast.

"Don't talk like that, or we'll never make it downstairs. Your mouth is wicked."

Leaning in and pressing his lips to Remus' ear, he nipped lightly at the lobe before whispering, "Well, then, you can have my mouth any way you want it as soon as we get the chance."

He was hauled in for a fierce kiss that was only interrupted by a banging on the door.

"Are you decent in there, plonker, because I'm coming in, and I really don't need to see your hairy arse twice in one morning."

"Sod off, James, I'm busy," Sirius called, but he pulled away from Remus reluctantly.

"We found Harry."

Sirius flung open the bedroom door to find James, hair standing on end, looking exhausted.

"Well, we found Draco, at any rate, so we _can_ find Harry," James added as Sirius led the way downstairs, Remus trailing behind James.

"I'll just let you two-"

"Stay," Sirius cut him off quickly.

"Are you sure?"

Even James had an eyebrow raised, but he shrugged at Sirius, indicating that if Sirius trusted Remus that was enough for him. Sirius gave him a grateful smile.

"James, Remus. Remus, James. There, now we're all friends. Please stay."

With a terse nod that had Sirius breathing a silent sigh of relief, Remus eyed the battered pink floral sofa Sirius had spent days trying to charm into some semblance of workable about a year ago. The springs were still poking through one of the cushions, but it was usable for one, and that was generally all Sirius needed. He was suddenly regretting his bout of laziness at not trying harder. He could transfigure a door into a solid bed frame, but he couldn't charm a sofa into better shape, much to James' frequent, loud, amusement.

James had pulled up a crate of potion supplies that Sirius was currently storing in the corner for lack of proper cabinet space and sank down on top of it.

Dropping down onto the plush rug that he had transfigured out of an old shirt, Sirius patted the space next to him. Remus just smirked at him and flicked his wand.

The sofa was suddenly squishy, and intact. And startlingly scarlet.

James snorted. "Keep this one, Sirius, he's useful."

"I'm trying," Sirius muttered, throwing a mock glare in the direction of James. "So, what's going on with Harry that you needed to wake me up and interrupt my chance for morning sex."

Bright red, James dropped his face into his hands. "I really don't want to hear about it, Sirius."

"That's too bad, mate. I've dealt with you and that wife of yours for how long now?"

"We've been married for fifteen years, you'd think you'd be able to keep track of that by now, plonker," Lily's voice floated in from the doorway where she was standing with a lanky blond teenager who looked like he was about to hex them all at any second.

Waving them in, Sirius sighed. It looked like it was about to be a long morning, and it hadn't even really started yet.

Lily settled herself precariously on James' lap while Draco leaned against the wall, glaring at them all.

Surprisingly, it was Remus who broke the silence, eyes narrowed as he frowned at Draco. "You look familiar," he said.

Draco snorted. "I should. My face is on half those bloody propaganda posters. Father's a kiss arse, and Mum thought I was too pretty to not show off." He frowned and dropped his head back against the wall with a thunk. "I hate those fucking things."

It was a testament to how much everyone agreed with him that no one commented on his language.

"You said you had some information for us," Lily prompted gently. Sirius was reminded of why she and James were the parents. And that this was, technically, a friend of their son's, despite his surly behavior.

Studying his fingernails and doing his best to look disinterested, Draco heaved an exaggerated sigh. "Ran into Snape yesterday outside The RaT. He told me to tell Harry to stop trying to break in to Riddle Labs. I told him I'd do my damnedest, stupid git."

"He told us the same thing yesterday," James groused, hackles up at the mention of Snape.

"It sounds like you're not going to tell Harry to stop," Sirius said cautiously, recognizing the glint in Draco's eye, the brash front to hide feeling displaced, lost. Knowing his cousin, the boy's mother, as he did he could understand it a little too well.

Shoulders slumped, the fight seemed to drain out of Draco in a torrent, leaving him sagging against the wall, the only part of him still fighting was his pale eyes, glaring daggers at them all. "He can't. _We_ can't."

"Any particular reason?" Sirius asked slowly, lazily waving his wand and summoning a conglomeration of mismatched cups and mugs along with a battered teakettle. The cups floated around the room and people plucked them out of the air as they went by until everyone had one. Sirius let a small pile of tea leaves steep in the kettle with a flick of his wand to heat it. It was a bit watery since he didn't have enough leaves to make tea for everyone, but it was still something. He had taken to growing his own leaves in small tins during the rainy season, but this year's crop had been small, and wasn't going to last.

The kettle floated around sputtering, little puffs of steam spitting out as it poured everyone tea.

Draco watched it, eyes flicking around the room before finally settling on Sirius. "Because I'm fairly sure they've poisoned me," he drawled, looking supremely unconcerned, and completely ignoring the gasp that escaped Lily.

"Poison?" James asked, his voice deceptively calm. Sirius could see the little twitch at the corner of his eye, though.

Heaving a rather put upon sigh, Draco drained his cup of tea in one go, and slid down the wall, crossing his legs under him, looking suddenly incredibly young.

"Father didn't think I was magical enough fast enough," Draco shrugged, tugging his baggy shirt over his knees. "And you know what Riddle promises."

"Magic for everyone," Sirius said gently, fist curled tight enough to leave little dents in his palm. Remus reached down from the couch and carded fingers through his hair. Gravitating toward the touch Sirius took a deep breath and let Draco continue.

"Yeah, that. Well, for anyone who can afford it, anyway," Draco added, almost as an afterthought. "And it even worked. At least, it seemed like it worked, right up until I left home and joined Harry at the old bed and breakfast. Then without my _vitamin potion_ ," he spat the words as if just the feel of them in his mouth made him ill. "I was getting sick. Vomiting blood sick. We broke into my parent's house first. Stole every drop they had, but I'm running out. Hermione did some tests and she thinks it's the Death Adder Venom combined with the Quicksilver. She's also fairly sure it's a hoax, but I can't stop taking it long enough to test that theory. She and Ginny have been working together for the last three months to try and come up with an antidote, but they haven't been able to completely decode the original potion yet, since I can't supply enough for proper testing."

The silence that followed was brittle, crystalline, threatening to break them all against its edges. No one wanted to voice the obvious, that Riddle was trying to kill off anyone without magic, and turn a profit while doing it.

What did finally break the silence was a banging on the door.

"Black! Open the door before I'm seen out here. Your git of a best mate is missing and I have information for him!"

"James," Sirius sighed, leaning back against Remus' legs. "Would you like to let the slimeball in, or shall I?"

A flick of his wand and James temporarily breached the wards and let the door swing in, revealing a very disheveled Severus Snape.

"What could possibly be so important that you felt the need to break down my door?"

"Did you know that you're leaning on a werewolf?" Snape asked by way of reply.

Lily was polite enough to not even glance at them. The same could not be said for Draco, or James whose eyebrows were nearly in his hairline.

Sirius, for his part, leaned a little more emphatically back into Remus, reaching a hand up to twin their fingers together pointedly. "Of course," he shrugged, sounding for all the world like this was old news, like he hadn't met Remus less than twenty-four hours earlier, and easiest of all, like he didn't care. "But so kind of you to share that information publicly instead of whatever was so important you came barging in here to interrupt my morning."

Fingers squeezed his, once, gently, a silent thank you, and the hand that was still in his hair went back to carding softly.

Whirling around to face James and Lily, Snape snarled, "Did you know there's a price on your son's head?"

"Has been for days, where have you been?" Draco drawled. "The matched set of Weasley's brought us that news as soon as it was released. He's being careful."

"And you didn't think that bit of information was important enough to share with us?" James directed the question towards Draco while still managing to glare at Snape.

"Did you know that Riddle is poisoning children?" Lily demanded, her face closed off as she stared up at Snape as if she had never seen him before.

A brief flicker of hurt skittered across Snape's face but he quickly chased it away and looked down his nose at her where she was still sitting on the floor. "Of course he isn't!"

Sirius had never seen Lily direct her anger towards Snape before, her guilt over choosing James making her tuck it away like a dirty secret, but this time her eyes flashed and for the first time James had to squeeze her shoulder to keep her from hexing her old friend.

"He is," Draco interjected, standing up. "Whatever my father had been paying exorbitant amounts of money to force feed me and make sure I was magical enough for his Old Blood taste can't be quit. I was vomiting blood within the hour when I tried."

The startled look on Snape's face looked genuine enough, and Sirius sighed. "Why don't you all hole up here for a little while. I'll go and try and track down Harry, get him to bring Hermione and Ginny here. Maybe with what they've gotten so far and Snape's help," he swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth at those words. It was stale, tasting of boyhood grudges and childish resentment, and he didn't have time to indulge it. "We can find a way to keep detoxing Draco from killing him."

"I'll go with you," Remus said softly.

Pointedly ignoring James' puzzled look Sirius nodded at Remus and went to haul himself to his feet when there was more banging at his door.

"Sirius! I need to talk to Potter!"

"Honestly, mate, I'm starting to feel like your doorman," Sirius sighed, flicking his wand and letting his brother in.

"What is it, Regulus, we're a bit busy here this morning."

"Not too busy for this," Regulus hissed, slamming the door quickly and appearing in the overcrowded sitting room, Harry and Ron in tow. Harry looked sullen and Ron was in a Full Body-Bind, levitating behind them.

Everyone was on their feet almost at once, but Harry held up a hand, looking rueful. "It's fine," he grumbled, glancing at his parents then quickly at his feet.

"You sure, Harry?" Draco asked, one eyebrow up. "He did petrify Ron." He paused, then added, "Not that I haven't been tempted to do the same on more than one occasion." The grin that split his face when Ron tried, and failed, to throw a snarky reply back made Sirius think that he had said it for exactly that reaction. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to smack the boy or adopt him.

"I found this one," Regulus jerked his thumb towards Harry, "hanging out outside Riddle Labs again. Rosier was in sight, so I had to apprehend him. Petrified the other one when he attacked me to save his friend."

"So you brought them here?" Sirius asked, startled, eyeing his brother like he'd sprouted a manticore head.

"Just because I don't think the world should go back to the anarchy that it was when the Crichton Virus first took hold and there was looting in the streets, and right now Riddle is the only one trying to impose any sort of law, doesn't mean I always agree with what that law is. I threw my lot in with the only player in the game, but I don't always agree with the way the game is played these days. Arresting children rankles. So yes, I brought them here. Safest option, since you're going to have to hide me for a while, now that Rosier saw me take them in. Even someone as thick as he is will eventually figure out that they aren't in custody at the Pit."

"Bloody fucking hell, Reg." Sirius swiped a hand across his face. "I am not awake enough for this shite. Stay here for now." He turned to glare at Snape. "You're not going to turn him in for this, are you?"

"I'm no hypocrite," Snape grumbled, sneering at all of them.

"Then you stay here for now, too, sadly." With a flick of his wand Sirius released Ron who slumped down rubbing at his neck, but had the sense to keep his mouth shut.

Staring down all three teenagers Sirius did his best to look authoritative rather than completely out of his element. He threw a look towards James and Lily looking for some help, since at least one of these kids was theirs, but they were having a silent conversation between themselves and didn't notice.

"You three," he started, and waited until he was sure he had their attention, all of them looking sullen. Sweet Merlin was he glad he wasn't a teenager anymore. "I know you lot seem to think you're going to save the world, or some rot," he started.

"Someone has to!" Harry cut in, frowning at him.

"I'm not going to argue that fact one way or the other right now. What I am going to do is put the whole lot of you under house arrest until this blows over. I do believe your parents, Harry, and probably yours as well, Ron, would agree with me."

"Actually," James started slowly, frowning between Sirius and Harry. "We're thinking we might try and slip town with Harry altogether for a while, go into hiding. It might be safer if there really is a price on his head."

"Dad!" Harry whined, looking utterly betrayed. "There's been a price on my head for days. We've been careful."

"Not careful enough," Lily said pointedly, looking towards Regulus, who had sunk down onto the sofa beside Remus and was watching the entire exchange with a slightly amused smile on his face, belied by the bags under his eyes.

"I'm not leaving the rest of my friends here." Harry insisted, firmly, which Sirius could almost sympathize with. He wouldn't have left James or Peter behind at that age, either.

"Hogwarts," Remus said softly.

"What?" James and Sirius both asked at the same time, making Regulus snort.

"It's a place up North. A huge castle that survived the devastation. Apparently it was once a school for magical children, back when the Statute of Secrecy was still in effect. Now it's a refuge for anyone trying to flee Riddle, run by a rather eccentric old wizard named Dumbledore."

"And how does some..." Snape trailed off and scrunched his nose up before continuing. "...one like you know about this place?"

Sirius clenched his fist and forced himself not to hex Snape. Or punch him. Both were incredibly appealing.

"Dumbledore was gracious enough to let me live there when I was a child," Remus answered, tone mild, fingers lacing with Sirius' again, tight and shaking slightly. "I've been sending people who want to get away that way for years now."

"The map?" Harry asked him, sounding impressed. "Is that where the map leads?"

"What map?" James frowned at his son.

"The twins found it," Ron said, still frowning at Regulus. "Heard it was an escape route, but we could never confirm that."

"It's painted on the side of that warehouse with the bright yellow roof. The one next to that terrible poster of Draco as a kid with his parents that says _Make Family Time Magical Again_."

Both Harry and Draco shuddered dramatically. "On the only wall still standing." Harry continued. "You need a password to see anything on it besides blank roads and cities, though, and we've never been able to suss out what that password was."

At Remus' nod, Draco grinned. "Cool!" Then he seemed to remember himself. "Well, not bad."

Harry and Ron both snorted and Draco flushed, glaring at Ron and sparing Harry a sidelong glance. Sirius sincerely hoped he was never that obvious at that age, although, he suspected that he probably was.

He glanced at James who was doing that silent conversation thing with Lily again, but they broke off, both nodding.

"Can you get us there?" James asked Remus, Lily taking his hand, and dropping her other hand on Harry's shoulder.

Without a word Remus pulled a small scrap of paper out of his pocket and waved his wand over it. It duplicated, and the copy fluttered in the air for a moment before unfurling with shimmering lines and an arrow pointing north. James gave it a long hard look and then slipped it into his own pocket with a nod.

"You take the children," James said to Lily, squeezing her hand. "I'll go get Hermione and Ginny, and anyone else willing to come with us, after I stop by The RaT for some supplies. We'll meet..." He paused and frowned.

"There's a small cabin about an hours walk once you manage to get out of the city," Remus said softly, leaning his shoulder against Sirius. "It's not much more than some walls and a roof, one room, barely standing. But it's a safe point on the trip. It'll be empty right now. Stick to the main road until you reach a large willow tree with it's branches all bent out of shape. It's all by itself in the middle of a field of birches. Veer towards the tree for about another kilometer and you can't miss -"

The rest of what he was about to say was cut off by the door banging open. Again. Sirius just sighed as Peter came tumbling into the room, hair disheveled, eyes darting around.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Everyone else has."

"My shop is swarming with Vipers looking for Harry. They're tearing the place apart. What is going on?" Peter glanced around and took in the crowd blinking hard and shaking his head. "No, really, what the bloody fuck is going on?"

After a long hard look at Lily Snape sighed, sounding incredibly put upon. "You stay here, I'll go get your supplies. If they're looting The RaT no one will think twice about my participating. I usually get personal potions supplies from there anyway. Tell me what you need."

"Severus," Lily breathed, sounding pained, both grateful and startled, her face flashing through a myriad of emotions so quickly that Sirius had no hope of interpreting them.

"On one condition," Snape added, face pinched, voice tight.

"And what might that be?" James asked, looking suspicious.

"Take me with you. If Riddle really is poisoning people, and I have no reason to doubt Draco, I want no part of it."

"Me too," Regulus blurted, hesitant. "Consider it payment for bringing your son here instead of to the Pit. I want out."

"Hello," Peter groused, running a hand through his hair. "What did I miss? What is happening? Why is my shop being looted? Why are there so many people here, particularly Snape and Regulus, and... whoever this is?" He gestured at Remus, who nodded in return, but didn't have the chance to introduce himself.

"Sorry, Pete," Sirius said, clapping him on the shoulder and steering him towards the sofa. "James'll explain."

"Why, what will you be doing?" James asked, frowning.

Sirius shrugged, trying to sound completely nonchalant, but falling rather short. "Someone has to make sure Draco here has enough snake oil to survive the trip. Who knows what potion supplies this castle may have, not to mention the time it'll take to decipher, or how long it takes to brew in the first place."

Snape snorted, looking hauty. "Between Lily and I we can decipher any potion within a day."

"Actually, that's probably true," Lily said softly, giving Draco a reassuring glance.

"You lot have been suspiciously quiet," Sirius muttered, facing the teenagers who were all very deliberately not looking at each other. "If you're planning anything please remember, Harry, that your father, Pete and I were the masters of mischief. There is nothing you could get up to that we won't see coming, so please be smart and just listen to the adults for once in your life." None of them responded, but the quick glances they all snuck each other didn't go unnoticed.

"Thank you," James said, squeezing his shoulder. "And if you're really going to do this, be safe. I don't want to have to pick a new best mate."

"Oi!" Peter yelped, but he was grinning, although it was tinged with worry, and Sirius nodded at him.

"I'm going with you," Remus cut in gently, nudging Sirius' shoulder gently as he slid up next to him.

"That's actually not a bad idea," James murmured before Sirius could object.

"Actually, it's a terrible idea," Sirius hissed, glaring at James before turning to face Remus. "I refuse to let you get hurt because of me." Sirius ran a thumb across Remus' cheek, gentle.

Hand covering Sirius', Remus leaned into the touch. "Well, then it's a good thing I'm a big boy and make my own decisions," he replied, kissing Sirius' palm to a chorus of groans from the group of teenagers, and James.

"Besides," Snape sneered, taking the list of supplies from Lily, written on parchment that Sirius had no idea where she procured. "It's probably a good idea to take someone with you who knows the layout of the building."

A hand slid into Sirius' hair, pulling him down until he was pressed forehead to forehead with Remus. "Don't let him bait you," Remus breathed, barely loud enough for Sirius to hear, even from mere centimeters away.

Sirius closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and holding it before letting it out very slowly, snaking an arm around Remus and tugging him in, heedless of their audience. "I'll behave," he replied, ducking and

breathing the words into the space where neck met shoulder, pressing his lips to a small patch of skin in a brief kiss. "But if I find out he had anything to do with hurting you I'll skin him myself."

"It wasn't anything as dramatic as that, I promise."

Sirius just nodded and clung a little, though he'd deny it if asked. It was comforting to have someone to hold onto when everything turned upside down and he felt like he was coming untethered. Yesterday he was just trying to survive the last of the dusty season, maybe spend some time with a beautiful man. Today they were suddenly planning an attack on the top of the food chain.

"So," Sirius said, bruskly pulling himself out of Remus' arms, although staying leaned against him, much to the amusement of nearly everyone in the room. "What exactly is this stuff I'm looking for, anyway?"

Draco patted his pocket, then frowned and patted all his pockets, his shoulder slumped.

A hand appeared by his shoulder holding out a small bottle of something bright aqua. "You forgot to bring this with you again this morning," Harry sighed, seemingly oblivious to the way Draco turned pink.

Lily looked a bit like she wanted to start cooing at them and James rolled his eyes fondly. Sirius managed to bite back a snort, mostly because he choked on his own air when he felt a set of teeth against his ear. "I would really like the chance to get you naked again today, so we should probably get moving," Remus barely even whispered the words, but they sparked through Sirius' entire body and he had to fight the urge to simply drag Remus back upstairs everything and everyone else be damned.

He took a couple of calming breaths before holding his hand out.

Ron was, begrudgingly, saying, "It would probably be best for everyone if you didn't start vomiting blood again," and Draco was glaring at him.

"My sodding Bestowing Bewitchment Brew," Draco spat, dropping the bottle into Sirius' hand. He unstoppered it, sniffing at the contents before passing it back to Remus to do the same.

"All right," he said finally, sealing the tiny bottle and handing it back to Draco who slipped it inside his pocket sheepishly. "I'll leave the rest of you to work out the details of your plan. We'll meet back here in three hours. Oh, and someone please explain what's going on to Peter before he explodes. He's been more patient than I would have been."

"That's not exactly a difficult task," Peter chimed in, smirking. James and Lily both laughed, but it was tinged with nerves

"Please be careful," James said, his laughter dying out quickly, suddenly as somber as Sirius had ever seen him.

"I'm going to go grab my boots from upstairs," Remus said deliberately, flicking a quick look at James and then flashing Sirius a small, tight smile. "Then we'll get this over with."

As soon as the stairs groaned under the weight of use James grabbed Sirius by the wrist and dragged him into the tiny kitchen away from everyone else. "You know I've never begrudged you a good shag, Sirius, but are you sure we can trust him?"

Sirius sighed, leaning against the cracked counter, the chipped formica digging into his side. He knew this had been coming from the second James caught them in bed that morning and Sirius didn't immediately send Remus away. He didn't usually let his one offs stay the night.

"I found him nearly being crushed by a roof he was trying to repair for a family with no magic. There were no witnesses for him to impress, no one he was trying to win over, just a family who needed help that he was willing to give. He's been nothing but helpful this morning, as well. You're right, I don't really know him, but I trust my instincts, and they say we can trust Remus."

James nodded once, hopping up to sit on the counter beside Sirius. "I trust your instincts, too. That's why I didn't ask you to send him away in the first place. I just wanted to hear you say it." Then he smirked and tugged at Sirius' hair. "Besides, he's managed the miraculous and calmed you down. More than once. If he can keep that feat up I may ask him to marry you."

Giving in to his nerves Sirius stuck his tongue out. "It might be a bit soon for that."

"I don't know," James grinned, "You two looked like you couldn't keep your hands off each other."

"You should know better than anyone that lust and love are not the same thing. He's an incredible man, from what I can tell in less than twenty-four hours, and I may yet get there, I'd certainly like to take the time to try to find out, but I'm definitely not there yet."

"The fact that you're considering it at all is nice," Remus said softly from the doorway where he was holding out Sirius' face covering that he must have grabbed from the floor by the bed.

"Is it?" Sirius asked softly.

Rather than respond Remus laid a gentle hand on Sirius' side. "Let me take one last look at that before we go?"

"Look at what?" James asked, worry lines forming between his eyes as he slid off the counter again to crowd Sirius.

"We had a bit of a run in with Rosier and the younger Lestrange yesterday. Remus was kind enough to patch me up. In fact," he smiled at Remus, "you did such a bang up job I forgot about it until now."

Remus ignored him in favor of crouching and tugging at his shirt until the place the injury had been was visible.

"You know, if you wanted to get my clothes off you could have just asked," Sirius chuckled.

"I did. Not ten minutes ago," Remus remarked blandly, making James choke and back up from where he was trying to get a look at the wound. "But we have to go perform some breaking and entering and theft before I get to actually collect, it seems."

"More's the pity. But I promise to make it up to you," Sirius said as Remus flicked his wand once over the mostly heeled gash, heat radiating through Sirius' side, before standing back up.

"Let's get this over with," Remus sighed.

"Three hours," James reminded them, frowning. "If you're not back here in three hours I'm coming after you, risks be damned."

"Don't do that, James. You have a family to look after."

"And you're part of it, Black. Don't ever forget that."

In place of a response Sirius pulled James into a crushing hug.

"Don't worry," Remus said when they pulled apart, holding out a hand for James to shake. "I'll take care of him."

"And yourself," James answered, using the offered hand to pull Remus in for a brief hug as well, making Remus widen his eyes sharply. "I really don't want to deal with this one moping if he loses you already."

Grabbing Remus' arm, Sirius dragged him towards the back door of the house, hiding his grumbled "Traitor," which was directed at James behind the loud creak the door made as he flung it open and marched outside.

"So, do we actually have a plan?" Remus asked, looking around the disheveled yard, withered brown plants crumbling in the heat, a cracked cauldron slowly being swallowed by dirt and decay in the corner by the splintering fence.

"Not in the slightest," Sirius answered promptly, flashing his brightest grin to hide how desperately he was winging this entire thing.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing we're so good at making things up as we go."

"Let's hope what holds true in bed works outside of it," Sirius murmured, making Remus chuckle and kiss him quickly before wrapping his arms around Sirius and Apparating them both to a point two crumbling blocks from Riddle Labs.

A collapsed storefront gave them some cover while they watched the imposing stone building, looking for any way inside. Sirius was shifting restlessly, a large rock dug into his calf when Remus nudged him, and nodded, tipping his chin towards the street. Looking where Remus indicated, Sirius grinned, feral, and nodded.

Moving quickly they slid out from the hiding place as quietly as possible, splitting up and closing in on Rosier from either side, wands out, catching him off guard as they quickly grabbed his arms and hauled him into the alley alongside the towering building that housed Riddle Labs, disarming him in the process.

"Petrificus Totalus," Sirius hissed at the same moment Remus whispered, "Silencio." Rosier half slumped, half tipped stiffly to the side, head thudding against the wall when neither Sirius nor Remus caught him.

"Now, here's the way this is going to work," Sirius growled, low and as menacing as he could manage, hoping he didn't sound as cliched as he felt. "You're going to get us inside and take us to where they store the surplus Bestowing Bewitchment Brew, and in return I won't transfigure your intestines into tangled ropes of pythons. Blink twice if you agree."

Rosier blinked twice. Then twice again. Then again in rapid succession.

"I'm going to take that for extreme agreement that you would like to keep your innards the way they are," Sirius replied calmly, doing his best to ignore the rapid staccato of his heartbeat trying to pulse its way up his throat and out, the blood rushing in his ears making it hard to hear.

"I won't sink to using the Imperius on you," Remus said slowly, digging his wand into Rosier's side, making a little dent in his robes. "But remember that if you call for help, or try to fight back, we both have our wands on you and can hex you faster than you could possibly shout."

Frowning, Remus eyed Sirius for a moment before flicking his wand and Disillusioning him, followed closely by himself. Sirius was contemplating the idea of using frequent Disillusioning as a method of cooling, because even though it only lasted for a fraction of a second, the icy trickle running down his spine was a pleasant break from the scorching temperatures.

"I'm going to release your feet now," Sirius warned, "And you're going to get us inside without any trouble."

The instant his feet were loosed Rosier tried to break free, tripping without the use of his arms. Sirius threw a Lethargy Charm, which made the recipient sluggish, their muscles heavy and uncoordinated, at him with an exasperated sigh. "What did we _just_ say about you behaving."

Rosier's eyes were little slits as he glared, but he stopped struggling, fighting to lift each leg as he trudged forward with Sirius and Remus gliding behind him as silently as they could.

The heavy wood and glass doors swung open without anyone needing to touch them. Sirius was almost impressed with the charm that allowed them to recognize Viper Fangs that had been enchanted to allow entrance.

Inside the dimly lit lobby there was a wall of posters all showing the planet Earth as if from a great height, surrounded by colorful sparks beneath the phrase _Making the World a More Magical Place_. A statue of a witch and a wizard huddled over a cauldron stood prominently in the middle of the floor. There were memos and bits of parchment zooming about overhead. It would probably have looked whimsical if it weren't dead silent, the parchment almost militaristic in its path.

They stood there for a moment waiting for Rosier to move. He rolled his eyes as forcefully as he could to the left, and started off in that direction, not bothering to check that Sirius and Remus were right behind him.

Four turns, a trick door and a set of stairs, which they climbed down only to end up looking over a railing at where they had just been, later and Sirius was hopelessly lost. Luckily, they had only passed one Riddle employee, who was so busy with her nose in a parchment, muttering to herself about mugwort, knotgrass and shrivelfig that she didn't even look at Rosier as he passed by with his two non-shadows in tow.

Two more winding hallways and one slide they rode up and Rosier pointed at a solid stone wall.

After a quick glance around and a hastily cast Muffliato Sirius whispered, "You expect us to just walk through a solid wall?"

Rosier rolled his eyes and snorted out a breath as derisively as he could.

"Fine," Remus sighed, eyes narrowed. "But only your head." He flicked his wand and gave Rosier back the use of his head, including his voice.

"The Bestowing Bewitchment Brew, along with most of the rest of what the swots who work in Research are working on, are through that charmed doorway. It's not solid, which you would have discovered if you had tried to walk forward, like I indicated." Rosier did his best to sneer at them even while tipping off balance for the third time without the use of his arms.

Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance before Sirius took a deep breath and reached a hand out. It slid directly through the wall, becoming invisible where it contacted the illusion, and appearing as though his arm had been severed at the elbow. When nothing else happened he stepped forward, followed closely by Remus.

They found themselves in a large storage room full of wooden shelves of all shapes and sizes. Some stretched up to the vaulted ceiling, some were barely a meter off the ground. Some were nearly as wide as the wall, some were barely wide enough for a couple of bottles. One curved around between the other shelves, winding through whatever space it could find.

The contents of the shelves were possibly even more varied than the shelves themselves. Large purple bottles, tiny crimson vials, color changing phials and one large tube that kept getting wider and thinner in slow, creeping cycles.

Tapping Remus on the shoulder Sirius nodded in one direction, then watched as Remus peeled off, eyes stuck on his arse briefly despite the tension in the room. Maybe because of the tension in the room. He shook his head and turned the other way, looking for a small aqua vial.

It wasn't until he nearly crashed into a sliding shelf that was slowly meandering it's way across the aisles that Sirius realized that Rosier wasn't with them.

"Bloody buggering fuck!" He hissed, shooting up red sparks out of his wand, arching up over the tops of the shelves.

Remus came skittering around the corner wide eyed. "Did you find it?"

Shaking his head Sirius glanced around them, pulse in his throat.

"Then what's wrong?"

"We seem to have lost our guide," he murmured, frowning. "We really ought to get out of here."

"We still haven't found-"

Sirius growled slightly and Remus bit off what he was going to say. "Accio Bestowing Bewitchment Brew!"

A clinking sound suddenly sprang up from three shelves away, growing rapidly louder as nearly two hundred vials came zooming in their direction. Sirius ducked, narrowly missing getting hit in the head with a couple. Grabbing an innocuous looking padded mat from one of the shelves he quickly transfigured it into a large carrying bag that he held up and waited for all the vials to neatly line themselves up inside it before casting a silencing charm on it so the glass wouldn't give them away.

He slung the bag over his shoulder and grabbed Remus' hand, ignoring the muttered "Why didn't we think of that in the first place?" and tugging him towards the door to the hall.

"Do you remember how to get out of here?" Sirius whispered fiercely as he peered cautiously into the corridor, seeing no Vipers, but not remembering which way to go.

The hand connected to his pulled in the opposite direction, and Sirius let himself be herded towards the exit.

They made it back down the slide and around two bends, placing their feet as carefully as they could to not make any noise.

Footsteps sounded from down a small tunnel looking hallway to their right, and Remus quickly dragged Sirius through a heavy wooden door, closing it silently behind them.

"How did you let yourself be captured by a sodding _werewolf_ and a useless git of a blood traitor?" Lestrange was demanding, glaring at Rosier who had a large gash over his eye and his cheek was already beginning to purple.

Once they had passed the door Sirius cracked it open just far enough to stick his wand out and give it a flick. From down the hallway, back towards the storage room, came a massive crash of glass and wood. Rosier and Lestrange started running.

The instant they were around the corner and out of sight Sirius and Remus slipped back out of their hiding place and started moving at a jog towards the exit.

They had almost made it when a pitiful whimper from inside one of the rooms they were passing pulled them up short. Cautiously Sirius inched forward and glanced inside. Then, with a small shout he flung the door open.

Twenty pairs of eyes all shot to the door to see what the commotion was.

"Children?" Remus whispered, sounding horrified. "I knew they were testing on werewolves and centaurs, but children?"

"Testing on werewo... is that what everyone has been hinting at all this time?"

Remus shrugged, refusing to look at Sirius, instead looking around the room at the filthy, emaciated children who were all watching them back curiously.

The oldest child, a small boy of maybe nine or ten, stood up from the mat they were all huddled on and approached slowly. "You ain't our normal feeders." He accused, glaring at them.

"Feeders?" Remus asked gently.

"Well sure. The tall one with the dark hair and shifty eyes. Always real nervous. Got that real angry one trailin' behind him like some sort of bedlamite shadow."

"Lestrange and Rosier. I was wondering what security Vipers were doing regularly at the Labs," Sirius said softly, still looking out over the kids, who were starting to shift and stand as one large unit, surging up to crowd around the boy who seemed to have designated himself their leader.

"They bring us porridge and a vitamin potion once a day," the boy continued, completely ignoring the fact that Sirius had spoken.

"How did you all end up here?" Remus asked gently, crouching down so he was eye level with the boy.

"Some of us they brought," a tiny brown skinned girl who looked six and spoke like she was twelve piped up. "Most of us came willingly. One sure meal a day and a roof out of the dust and heat is a sight better than what we had before."

"Do you think James would let them-" Remus started.

"If he doesn't Lily'll have his bollocks, so yes," Sirius cut him off, nodding sharply.

Turning back Remus turned on the brightest smile Sirius had seen on him, his whole face lighting up with it. "What would you all say if we could offer you a place, outside of the city, away from the Vipers, that would give you more than one meal a day, and rooms for all of you. Clothes and regular baths and even an education, of sorts."

"I'd say you been listenin' to too many fairy tales from before the virus," the boy spat, eyeing them warily. "What's the magical place called, anyway, Utopia?"

"Nope, Hogwarts. It's a great big castle," Sirius tried to placate them.

"With a fairy princess waiting for prince charming who just needs all sorts of children to do her bidding?" The little girl scoffed, wrapping her arm around an even tinier boy who had her skin and eyes.

"No princess," Remus said, smile starting to slip. "Just a very old wizard who wants to help out when he can. I grew up there. So did loads of other people. The Great Hall where everyone eats has a ceiling that looks like the sky, and the suits of armor walk around. There are ghosts and portraits that will have conversations with you, and a lake with a giant squid that you can still swim in when it's hot out."

They still looked skeptical.

Sirius sighed. "Look, my best mate James is taking his wife and son there today, along with some friends, and I can promise you that any of you who want to go are invited to go with them."

A blonde stocky boy grinned suddenly. "Hermione?" He asked, recognition in his face.

Sirius startled. "How do you know Hermione?"

"She's real smart," the boy nodded emphatically. "I fell off a wall last month. Broke my arm and Harry and Ron were arguing about taking me to see a James and Lily but Hermione patched me all up. Kissed my cheek when she was done, too."

His pale skin was bright red and Remus chuckled. "Ah, first crushes," he whispered so only Sirius could hear him.

"Well, I'm pretty sure Hermione is going, too," Sirius said, ruffling the boy's hair.

"I want to go!" A few of the other kids were nodding now, caught up in his enthusiasm.

"Anyone who wants to come with us should follow us now," Remus said gently, eyeing the doorway. "But we're all going to have to be super quiet and move quickly. Can we do that?"

Twenty sets of wide eyes all nodded, only the oldest two still looking hesitant. A few of them even mimed buttoning up their lips, which made Sirius smile.

With some help from the older children they all made it back down to the lobby without incident, waiting for stragglers with little legs by the statue of the potion masters. The last little set of feet had just come scampering across the floor when a voice came from an alcove by the door.

"You really thought you could steal our biggest asset?" Rosier asked, eyebrows raised, twirling his wand.

"Get the children out of here," Sirius whispered to Remus. "I'll meet you back at my place so we can hand them off to James."

"I'm not leaving you alone here."

"Get the _children_ out of here," Sirius repeated sharply, giving Remus a little nudge and handing him the bag full of stolen potion. "I'll be fine."

Whispers were already working their way through the children, so when Remus grabbed the hand of the oldest boy, giving Sirius one last long look, and tugged gently all the rest of them came in one large mass, moving as one unit, older children scooping up smaller ones and running. It was chaos for a brief moment, but Sirius heard the front doors bang open behind him while he faced off with Rosier, who let out a screech and dove towards the last of the children, trying to grab a small boy by the ankle.

Sirius threw a stunning hex at him, but the angle Rosier was moving at kept him out of harms way. Fortunately, it also left him meters shy of actually grabbing any of the children, who scattered into the street trailing behind Remus like ducklings.

"What have you done?" Rosier screamed, eyes wild, voice high and cracking.

"Relax, Evan," Lestrange said from where he suddenly appeared sitting atop the ornate reception desk that appeared to be completely unused. One of the flying memos nearly collided with the side of his head as it swooped down towards a tiny hallway that descended rapidly below ground. "There are always hungry children on the streets. It won't be too hard to replenish our stock. And at least now we have a good excuse to kill this one. He's been a thorn in the side of a good family for long enough."

Sirius swallowed hard, clutching his wand a little tighter and trying to creep towards the entrance.

Lestrange clucked his tongue. "None of that now. We're going to have a proper duel to settle this. You against me and Rosier here."

"That hardly sounds proper," Sirius noted, sliding another few centimeters back.

"What did he just say?" Rosier stamped his foot like a small child throwing a temper tantrum, and sparks shot out of the end of his wand, igniting one of the passing memos, which careened out of control, colliding with three more along the way, all of which burst into flames.

"You useless. Sodding." Lestrange bit off his words, a stream of purple light shooting out of his wand directly into Rosier's chest. Rosier crumpled to the ground just as one of the flaming memos crashed into a tapestry, which ignited almost instantly. Within seconds most of the room was burning.

Shooting ineffectual little jets of water at columns of fire climbing rapidly to four or five meters, Lestrange paused long enough to kick the unconscious body of Rosier, muttering about how the whole place was going to blow if the fire reached some of the ingredients stored down in the dungeons.

"And you!" He screamed just as Sirius got his hand on the door. "This is all your fault!" Glancing back Sirius saw a column of flames obscure Lestrange.

Sirius felt his side reopen just as he burst outside and instantly Apparated into his living room, collapsing in a heap at James' feet. Peter came running over at the same time banging started at the front door. Lily, Severus and the teenagers were nowhere in sight.

"Let Remus in," Sirius wheezed. "I'm fine. Just a little bloodied."

Regulus leveraged himself off the sofa, where it looked like he hadn't moved since Sirius left, and opened the door.

Twenty small children came spilling inside followed by an incredibly out of breath Remus.

"I realize you two are absolutely disgusting with each other already, but isn't it a little soon to be adopting children?" Regulus drawled, arching en eyebrow in a way that had always made Sirius secretly jealous when they were kids.

"Riddle was using them as lab rats," Remus hissed, glaring as he sank down next to Sirius, hands going to Sirius' face almost immediately, fluttering down to his shoulders, over his arms, back up his neck. "You're here," he whispered, not giving Sirius a chance to reply before he kissed him, more worried than heated. He only pulled back when Sirius winced, hand that had slid down Sirius' side coming away sticky. "What happened?" He demanded, tugging at Sirius' shirt, trying to inspect the wound.

"Umm, well, Lestrange got in a parting shot before I could Apparate out of there. Riddle Labs is burning down. Lestrange was being swallowed by a wall of flames last I saw. He might even be dead, Rosier is almost certainly dead and we absconded with a whole bunch of children in the process of liberating Riddle Labs of their entire stock of Bestowing Bewitchment Brew." The last part he added for the benefit of the rest of the room who were still looking around at the sudden appearance of a flock of small children with a bit of bewilderment. "Speaking of which, what happened to all the rest of the people who were invading my house?"

"Lily wanted Harry out of town as soon as possible, so she and Snape took the-" James trailed off and glanced, wide eyed, at the kids who were not running around, or trying to get into anything, or yelling, or even making any noise at all. They were all huddled together sitting on the floor watching the adults with huge, nervous eyes. "Older children, I guess, on to the cabin Remus told us about. Pete and I decided to wait for you two nutters before we left to meet them."

"You let Snape and Lily go while you stayed here?" Sirius quipped, trying to keep it light as he winced through a second set of healing charms in less than twelve hours.

James ran a hand through his hair, making it stand even more on end. "I trust Lily," he said with a shrug.

"Would you like me to Apparate on ahead and tell them to expect a larger crowd than originally planned?" Peter asked, eyeing the kids a little awkwardly. Sirius was struck with the memory of how delicate Peter had been when he first held Harry as a baby, afraid he'd break him just by looking at him. He appeared to be just as terrified of the slightly older variety.

James apparently was having similar thoughts, because he grinned at him. "Sure, why don't you go ahead and do that. And send Lily back with some of those chocolate frogs they packed."

There was a small pop and Peter disappeared. A couple of the kids gasped, and the rest of them were wide eyed with amazement.

"What's a chocolate frog?" A small tawny haired boy piped up bravely from the front of the crowd.

"It's a type of sweet." Regulus, much to Sirius' surprise, was the one who answered, crouching down with the kids. "And I think that Potter there," he pointed at James with his wand, intentionally setting off a rainbow of lights across the ceiling and getting the kids giggling, "is going to let you all try a little when his wife gets here. In the meantime, how about you all tell us your names?"

The kids all started clamoring to answer him as Sirius watched, a little bit in awe. "I didn't realize my brother was so good with kids," he muttered to Remus who had finished up healing his side again and was idly running his fingers across Sirius' bare skin, making him shiver.

Regulus snorted and raised an eyebrow at him, much to Sirius' dismay, but he also flashed him a small half smile even as he continued listening to the children prattle at him, and making little light shows to get them to laugh and relax until Lily appeared, the telltale pop of Apparation making the kids all gasp again, this time grinning.

"So, I hear there might be some small people who want a bit of chocolate frog?" She called out, voice light and cheerful, eyes tight around the corners.

While Lily distracted the children by doling out quartered segments of chocolate frogs Regulus slunk over to where Sirius and Remus were half cuddling half clinging, curled together on the carpet. "I don't suppose you have anything lying around here we could transfigure into wagons, or sleds of some sort? I don't imagine all those little legs are really up to that kind of walking."

"There are two broken cauldrons in the back, and a few rather large rocks that I kept meaning to banish. If you can use them you're welcome to them."

Regulus wandered through the kitchen and Sirius heard the back door slam.

"I can't go with you, you know, too much to do here still," Remus said softly, dropping his head only Sirius' shoulder. "So I guess that follow-up shag won't be happening after all."

Sirius startled. It hadn't occurred to him to think about going or staying. He had been acting on instinct since he had met Remus the day before, with no planning for what may come next. With a bittersweet pang it settled into his chest that he probably wouldn't be going either, and that he would rather miss James, Peter and Lily. But this was home, and if Riddle really was testing on children, poisoning children, he couldn't in good conscience just leave.

There was a large crash and Regulus came stumbling back in levitating four rather oversized wagons behind him. "So, who wants to go for a ride?" He called.

The response was cacophonous as all the children clamored at once to climb into flying rides.

With the help of all the adults, even Sirius and Remus leveraging themselves off the floor to lend a hand, all the children were strapped in.

Lily and Regulus took charge of floating them outside, James giving Sirius one last long look before hanging back.

"James, I-"

"I know," James cut in. "You can't just sit back and hide. Now that you know what's out there you want to fight. I've known this was coming since this morning."

Sirius took a deep breath, grateful for a best mate he didn't need to explain himself with. "Thanks, mate," he said softly, pulling James into a hug.

"We'll be back when this blows over. Or when the kids are all settled and don't need us anymore. It won't be forever."

"Harry's always been pretty independent."

"Of course he has!" James puffed up with pride for a moment, then deflated. "You stay alive until we get back, you hear?" He turned to look at Remus. "You too. You're part of the family now, like it or not."

Remus spluttered, looking between Sirius and James with wide eyes. He was spared having to reply, though, by a large cheering coming from outside.

Making their way out of the small house it quickly became apparent what all the commotion was over. There was a fine mist of rain just starting to fall.

"Well, we should get going," James said softly, hugging Sirius and then Remus one last time.

"Wait, you're not coming with us?" Regulus frowned, little lines forming between his eyes and at the corners of his mouth.

"Sorry little brother, but I'm not ready to leave home just yet."

Regulus sighed, shoulders slumping, and he stepped forward pulling Sirius sharply to him. "At least you finally found someplace worthy of the title. I'll Apparate in once in a while, if that's okay. Might be worth catching up."

"Any time," Sirius answered, finding, to his surprise, that he meant it.

When Regulus let go Lily stepped forward to kiss his cheek. She didn't say anything, but when she backed away she took James' hand and squeezed it, blinking hard.

"We'll pop in too, make sure you're still alive out here on the front lines," James said gruffly, giving Sirius one last nod. "Can't leave you unattended for too long. I mean, one day without adult supervision and you pick yourself up a bloke, burn down Riddle Labs and start a revolution."

"I think your son started a revolution. I'm just manning it for him."

"I'll try and keep him in check," Remus said softly, coming up to wrap an arm around Sirius' waist.

"I don't know," James said with a smile. "You did help him kidnap a small army of children. I think you might be just as mad as he is. Good thing you have each other now."

"Come on, James, we have to get moving if we want to make it before dark," Lily called gently.

James stayed where he was for a moment longer. "See you around, Black."

"You know how to find me, Potter, so you'd better take advantage. I don't give just anyone the password to my wards."

With one last lingering glance James, Lily and Regulus started marching towards the edge of town, towing four floating wagons full of children.

When they were out of sight Remus nudged Sirius, still half wrapped around him. "You could have gone with them, you know."

"I really couldn't," Sirius said, leaning down and kissing his cheek. "Things to do here. And this is home, no matter how shoddy. I'm not ready to let some power hungry git run me off just because he thinks he rules the world. Maybe it's time for a shift in power. Time to make this place ours again, not Riddle's." He paused and grinned, sharp and feral. "Besides, there's this rather incredible bloke I'm just starting to get to know. I don't want to miss out on my chance to do that."

"Really now," Remus hummed, kissing at the edge of Sirius' jaw.

"Yeah," Sirius breathed. "He's pretty special, from what I can tell. Going to have to keep making sure he thinks I'm worth all the effort."

"Mmm, I do believe you made him a promise this morning." Remus set his teeth gently to the chord of Sirius' neck, biting down and making Sirius shiver.

"Well, I am a man of my word. Do you think he'd like that shag now or later?"

"I think now will do just fine. We can discuss later in the morning." Remus paused and sucked a mark into Sirius' collarbone, making him hiss. "Or maybe later tonight."

As they turned to head back inside, fingers twinned together, the first rain of the season began to fall in earnest, fat heavy drops crashing to the ground, taming the dust for another year.


End file.
